Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon this morning comes from the Epistle, which was read earlier.

The day which we celebrate Easter has come and gone for another year, but the meaning of Easter goes beyond just a single day. Rather, it lasts for 50 days. The reason why: there is too much joy to keep in just a single day. Our text for today highlights the importance of Easter: resurrection.

Peter writes, “He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” In the opening sentences of his letter, Peter twice calls to mind the election of God’s children from eternity. God has chosen each of us to be His own. The Holy Spirit makes us confident of this through faith in God’s promises. Though our faith makes us “strangers in the world,” yet we have “grace and peace … in abundance,” knowing the love of the Father who chose us, of the Son who died in our place, and of the Spirit who sanctifies us.

One must ask themself this question: Why? Why would God do what He did? Why would God promise to send a Savior, a Savior who would be His only-begotten Son, only to have Him die? Christ’s death brought about His resurrection – not only for Himself but for all believers as well. That translates into a resurrection for you and for me. But we’re still left with the why. Peter tells us it is “according to his great mercy.” It’s is God’s mercy for His beloved creation that He did what He did and that He continues to do what He does.

God was not content with having His creation die in sin. From the very moment that man fell, He promised a Savior. This was His beloved creation. It was so beloved by God that He declared man to be “very good.” In creating the world, He deemed it only as “good.” But man, on the other hand, created in the image of God, that is holy and perfect, without sin, only man was deemed to be “very good.”

What God gives to us is a gift. It is a gift like no other gift. This is a gift that you can’t buy at Wal-Mart. This is a gift that you can’t order off of the Internet. It’s a gift that you cannot repay, for it is a gift that is given freely. This is truly a one of a kind gift. This gift brings with it eternal blessings, such as the forgiveness of sins, everlasting life, and salvation.

Having been brought to faith, we are different from the way we were before. We have been reborn with the restored image of God. Our Old Adam has to take the back seat. The new man is now at the wheel – with a lot of help from his lifelong driving instructor known as the Holy Spirit. And though the Old Adam is there right behind us, “through faith” we “by God’s power are being guarded.” The Old Adam in the back seat keeps trying to grab the wheel, but our faith is the metal-mesh screen between the front and back seats, as in police cars, preventing him from taking control. And it is the power of God, ours through the means of grace, that makes the screen strong enough to resist even the most savage attacks of the Old Adam. Oh, he may distract us with all his screaming and hollering and thus cause us to swerve occasionally, but he cannot take control unless we ourselves let our guard down. Our “living hope” is that Christ, who has conquered sin and death, has given us the promise of eternal life.

So what are we supposed to do with this wonderful gift given to us? We rejoice! You and I have been given such a wonderful gift by God in the resurrection of Jesus that we should do nothing less than rejoice! We rejoice because our sins have been forgiven. We rejoice because we have been given everlasting life. We rejoice because we have been called children of God. Why wouldn’t we rejoice at that!

But as St. Peter says, our rejoicing is for a little while, because “you have been grieved by various trials.” There are many trials that we face in our lives. Throughout these trials, our faith must be anchored in Jesus Christ, for He is “the founder and perfecter of our faith.” All of this is done to test the genuineness of your faith. It is the Lord who declares it necessary for us to undergo these trials, compared by Peter to the test used to prove if gold is genuine or not. Peter had tasted the bitterness of failing such a test, but he also knew the sweetness of Christ’s forgiveness and promise of future help. We, too, have God’s promise that no trial will be more than we can bear, for our faith and our eternal salvation are worth far more than perishable gold.

Just as Jesus tells Thomas in our Gospel reading today, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed,” Peter makes the same point in our text. He says, “Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” Peter also heard that as blessed as Thomas and the rest were by Christ’s reassuring presence, those who would not see Jesus but would still believe in him would likewise be blessed. We look forward to something we have not seen and which was promised to us by someone whom we have not met. The world calls this foolishness. We call it a miracle.

The fact that you and I have been given faith is indeed a miracle. God chose to love us when we were unlovable in our sin. Through His great love and mercy, He gave to us His only-begotten Son. By the work of Jesus Christ, we have been given the gift of Jesus and His forgiveness, won for us on the cross.

What God has given to us is truly a gift, a gift that is given to us freely, a gift that requires nothing from us. At first glance, it might appear to be a little strange. We feel a bit uncomfortable receiving something without keeping score so that we make certain of returning a similar amount. But if this is truly a gift, that means the recipient has not earned it because the earning aspect would take away the gift aspect. That’s precisely the point! Salvation is given to us without any merit or worthiness on our part – and without our having to prove to anyone that we have earned it. This gift of salvation had been made available for all of us by God.

For Peter, there is great cause for joy. The cause for joy in our relationship with God is not that we have discovered Him, but the simple realization that He claims us as His own. Being called a child of God with your sins forgiven – there truly is no better gift than that! In Jesus’ name, amen. Now the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. The text for the sermon comes from the Gospel, which was read earlier.

What a week this has been! This time a week ago, crowds were gathered as Jesus rode into Jerusalem. They laid their cloaks upon the ground to make a path for Jesus to walk upon. They shout, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” While confused a bit and not fully understanding who this King was riding into Jerusalem, they shouted His praises. Unfortunately, this praise would be short lived.

Tuesday marks the beginning of the end with Judas Iscariot going to the chief priests and betraying his Master for the price of thirty pieces of silver. On Thursday, He instituted His Supper for the disciples and for us. But when Friday comes, it is a complete 180° from what we saw on Sunday. The kangaroo court trial which Jesus faced was nothing more than a mockery of justice. Peter, the right hand of Jesus, the steadfast disciple, denied Jesus not once, not twice, but three times. The people, when given a choice of having either Barabbas or Jesus released. Barabbas the prisoner, tried and guilty, or Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God who is guilty of nothing. What should have been a no-brainer turned into quite the opposite. The crowd shouted for Barabbas to be released. While Pilate tried to speak to their senses of having Jesus released, the response was “Let him be crucified!”

When Jesus cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”, everything changes. There, we see how God has turned His back on His Son. You may think that it is a cruel and heartless thing for God to do. How could any father turn his back on his son, let alone God the Father turn His back on Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son? But this was necessary. It was necessary for you. It was necessary for me. It was necessary for your sins and mine. All of this was set in motion from the beginning, from the fall into sin; this plan of salvation was begun.

Following our Lord’s three day rest in the tomb, Jesus emerges from the tomb triumphant over sin and death. When the women arrive at the tomb, the tomb is empty. There were at least two things the women were expecting to find. First, the large stone to still be in place at the opening of the tomb. Now, that stone was rolled away. The second thing they expected to find was a dead Jesus in the tomb. When I say dead, I mean dead as a doornail dead, three-day flesh rotting Jesus dead. Instead, there is nothing there except the burial linens.

Today, we do not come here looking for a dead Jesus. The angels at the tomb tell the women and us that Jesus is not here and He is not dead. “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.”

It’s been three days. Here we are standing at the mouth of the tomb and what do we see when we look into it? Nothing, for Christ is not there because He is risen from the dead. That is what this day is all about – resurrection. It is about how Christ is no longer dead, but has been raised from the dead.

When you and I die, we die eternally. We do not survive death – we are annihilated by it. When we die, we remain dead. That’s the way it is, unless God chooses to do something to dispute the power of death. But because Christ has been raised from the dead, we too will be raised from the dead. When this mortal life comes to an end, we need fear nothing, because we have received the gift of being raised to new life in Christ Jesus.

Here these words from St. John. “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” These words are spoken by Jesus to Martha just after the death of Lazarus. Martha needed a reminder of what Jesus was all about. He had to remind her that though Lazarus was dead, he would not remain dead. You and I receive that reminder each and every Sunday when we come here to this place and hear about the great love that God has for us, in that He would send His one and only Son into this sin-filled world to give to us the greatest gift we could ever receive: Himself.

Who could blame the women for disbelieving? Angels, “in dazzling apparel”? The dead body of a Man coming back to life? They had seen Jesus raise other people from the dead 3 times: Jairus’ daughter, a young man from Nain, and Lazarus. But Jesus had died. Who could raise Him from the dead? God could and God did.

If we believe that Jesus is not risen, then He could not save us. If He was merely a man, then He would not be worth worshiping. But if you do believe He rose, then you know that Christ is more than a Man. He has conquered death. He has destroyed sin and crushed Satan. With His life, death, and resurrection, He has rescued you from the grave. Although your sins should have made you die, and stay dead, yet Christ broke death’s power, so that you will live and rise to eternal life.

Christ is risen from the dead. He is risen before His people know it. He is risen before His people believe it. He is risen to give them faith and life; and so He is risen for you. But this you can know for sure – of this you can be certain: Christ has died and Christ is risen from the dead. You haven’t seen Him face to face yet, but He tells you it is so in His Word. Faith comes by hearing, not by seeing; and as the resurrected Jesus said to Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet believe.” That’s you!

Do not be afraid, for the joy of Easter Sunday is not just that Jesus died and Jesus rose, but that Jesus died for you and Jesus rose for you. He has borne your sin to the cross, and He has suffered for it there. He has died your death and been laid in the tomb, but now the tomb is empty. So will yours be, for Christ is risen to raise you, too. He declares that He no longer holds your sins against you, because they are gone. He has taken them away in death, and He has not brought them back with His resurrection. So where your sins would confuse you as to God’s attitude toward you, whether or not He loves you, do not be afraid and have no doubt. If God has paid such a price as to sacrifice His own Son to redeem you, He has nothing but grace and mercy, love and life for you now.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Now the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, amen.